Jesus: The Loving God (Part 2)

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Sunday - 9:15 AM Sunday School, 10:30 AM Worship Service

by: Denise Robinson

09/18/2020

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This week we continue our reading of the fifth letter written by Henri Nouwen to his nephew, Marc, discussing his Christian faith. If you happened to miss any of the previous devotionals, they can be found in the previous Facebook posts and are also available under the Pastor's Desk tab on our church website (irvingtonumc.org).


Letter 5: Jesus: The Loving God (Pt. 2)

Nouwen fifth letter to Marc was written at Easter time. In this letter, his focus is on the resurrection, Jesus in his glory, and the joy we can have in being Jesus' disciple. This is summarized in what Nouwen views as Jesus' words, "Love your enemies," as among his most important. 

"These words ("Love your enemies") bring us to the heart and center of hope. As long as love is a matter of quid pro quo, we can't love our enemies. Our enemies are those who withhold love from us and make life difficult for us. We are inclined spontaneously to hate them and to love only those who love us. Jesus, however, will have no part in such bartering. Jesus shows us that true love, the love that comes from God, makes no distinction between friends and foes .. God makes no such distinction. He loves all human beings, good or bad, with the same unconditional love. 

If our love, like God's, embraces friend as well as foe, we have become children of God and are no longer children of suspicion, jealously, violence, war, and death .. There you have it. The love of God is an unconditional love, and only that love can empower us to live together without violence. When we know that God loves us deeply and will always go on loving us, whoever and whatever we do, it becomes possible to forgive generously and to respond to hostility with love. 

Whenever, contrary to the world's vindictiveness, we love our enemy, we exhibit something of the perfect love of God, whose will is to bring all human beings together as children of the Father. Whenever we forgive instead of letting fly at one another, bless instead of cursing one another, tend one another's wounds instead of rubbing salt into them, hearten instead of discouraging one another, give hope instead of driving one another to despair, hug instead of harassing one another, thank instead of criticizing one another .. we make God's unconditional love visible....

I hope that you feel that we are touching here the very heart of the gospel. Jesus challenges us to move into a totally new direction. He asks for conversion - that is to say, a complete interior turnaround, a transformation. Not an easy thing, as is certainly evident from his words: "But it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it." .. And so, step by step, we come closer to the heart of God, which is the heart of an undiscriminating, always forgiving, inexhaustible love. This might look like a very tall order, especially when you're facing it alone. You've often told me about the cynical reactions [of others] when you talk about Jesus. It is, indeed, very difficult to look for the way to the heart of God without the support of your friends. That's why .. you need a community, even if it's a fairly small one .. Real vulnerability can only be fruitful in a community of people who are searching for God together. So one of your important tasks is to find friends who want to walk with you on the long road of conversion. 

Still, there are a number of concrete steps you can take .. First, if you wish to learn the love of God, you have to begin by praying for your enemies .. Each time you pray, really pray, for your enemies, you'll notice that your heart is made new .. Your heart grows deeper and broader and opens up more and more to all the human beings with whom God has peopled the earth .. It makes you conscious of the hard fact that, in God's eyes, you're no more and no less worthy of being loved than any other person, and it creates an awareness of profound solidarity with all other human beings .. And you'll be delighted to discover that you can no longer remain angry with people for whom you've really and truly prayed. [Second, Nouwen returns to a common theme in his letters - the importance of Holy Communion.] The Eucharist opens the way for us to make God's love our own .. when you receive the body and blood of Jesus his love is given to you - the same love he showed on the cross .. That is a divine gift. That's why it's so important to make the Eucharist [Communion] the heart and center of your life. 

I earnestly pray and hope that you will cling to these small signs of hope and not let yourself be led astray by the noise and clamor of those who persist in relying on violence. The way of Jesus is not self-evident, but it is the only way that leads to life and can save our world from total destruction. Let us hope and pray with all our hearts that we may have the courage and the confidence to follow the way of Jesus to the end."

______________________________________

If you have been writing your own letters, this week you end your fifth letter, writing your own experience of God's love. What do you think about Nouwen's words that in praying for our enemies our heart is made new? How do you feel about praying, really praying, for those who don't wish the best for you or who have hurt you in some way? In what ways has your life been enriched (or might it be enriched) by praying for others? How does your experience of Holy Communion contribute to your understanding of God's love and deepen your love for God and others? 

Have a blessed week!

Pastor Denise
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This week we continue our reading of the fifth letter written by Henri Nouwen to his nephew, Marc, discussing his Christian faith. If you happened to miss any of the previous devotionals, they can be found in the previous Facebook posts and are also available under the Pastor's Desk tab on our church website (irvingtonumc.org).


Letter 5: Jesus: The Loving God (Pt. 2)

Nouwen fifth letter to Marc was written at Easter time. In this letter, his focus is on the resurrection, Jesus in his glory, and the joy we can have in being Jesus' disciple. This is summarized in what Nouwen views as Jesus' words, "Love your enemies," as among his most important. 

"These words ("Love your enemies") bring us to the heart and center of hope. As long as love is a matter of quid pro quo, we can't love our enemies. Our enemies are those who withhold love from us and make life difficult for us. We are inclined spontaneously to hate them and to love only those who love us. Jesus, however, will have no part in such bartering. Jesus shows us that true love, the love that comes from God, makes no distinction between friends and foes .. God makes no such distinction. He loves all human beings, good or bad, with the same unconditional love. 

If our love, like God's, embraces friend as well as foe, we have become children of God and are no longer children of suspicion, jealously, violence, war, and death .. There you have it. The love of God is an unconditional love, and only that love can empower us to live together without violence. When we know that God loves us deeply and will always go on loving us, whoever and whatever we do, it becomes possible to forgive generously and to respond to hostility with love. 

Whenever, contrary to the world's vindictiveness, we love our enemy, we exhibit something of the perfect love of God, whose will is to bring all human beings together as children of the Father. Whenever we forgive instead of letting fly at one another, bless instead of cursing one another, tend one another's wounds instead of rubbing salt into them, hearten instead of discouraging one another, give hope instead of driving one another to despair, hug instead of harassing one another, thank instead of criticizing one another .. we make God's unconditional love visible....

I hope that you feel that we are touching here the very heart of the gospel. Jesus challenges us to move into a totally new direction. He asks for conversion - that is to say, a complete interior turnaround, a transformation. Not an easy thing, as is certainly evident from his words: "But it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it." .. And so, step by step, we come closer to the heart of God, which is the heart of an undiscriminating, always forgiving, inexhaustible love. This might look like a very tall order, especially when you're facing it alone. You've often told me about the cynical reactions [of others] when you talk about Jesus. It is, indeed, very difficult to look for the way to the heart of God without the support of your friends. That's why .. you need a community, even if it's a fairly small one .. Real vulnerability can only be fruitful in a community of people who are searching for God together. So one of your important tasks is to find friends who want to walk with you on the long road of conversion. 

Still, there are a number of concrete steps you can take .. First, if you wish to learn the love of God, you have to begin by praying for your enemies .. Each time you pray, really pray, for your enemies, you'll notice that your heart is made new .. Your heart grows deeper and broader and opens up more and more to all the human beings with whom God has peopled the earth .. It makes you conscious of the hard fact that, in God's eyes, you're no more and no less worthy of being loved than any other person, and it creates an awareness of profound solidarity with all other human beings .. And you'll be delighted to discover that you can no longer remain angry with people for whom you've really and truly prayed. [Second, Nouwen returns to a common theme in his letters - the importance of Holy Communion.] The Eucharist opens the way for us to make God's love our own .. when you receive the body and blood of Jesus his love is given to you - the same love he showed on the cross .. That is a divine gift. That's why it's so important to make the Eucharist [Communion] the heart and center of your life. 

I earnestly pray and hope that you will cling to these small signs of hope and not let yourself be led astray by the noise and clamor of those who persist in relying on violence. The way of Jesus is not self-evident, but it is the only way that leads to life and can save our world from total destruction. Let us hope and pray with all our hearts that we may have the courage and the confidence to follow the way of Jesus to the end."

______________________________________

If you have been writing your own letters, this week you end your fifth letter, writing your own experience of God's love. What do you think about Nouwen's words that in praying for our enemies our heart is made new? How do you feel about praying, really praying, for those who don't wish the best for you or who have hurt you in some way? In what ways has your life been enriched (or might it be enriched) by praying for others? How does your experience of Holy Communion contribute to your understanding of God's love and deepen your love for God and others? 

Have a blessed week!

Pastor Denise
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